The present invention relates generally to vehicular control and more particularly to an abbreviated set of auxiliary controls which may be added to a refuse pickup vehicle to eliminate the need for a truck driver in the cab of the vehicle when moving between the short and frequent refuse pickup locations on a refuse collecting route.
Present day refuse collecting or "garbage" trucks are frequently of a rear loading variety and the present collecting technique is for one individual to be in the cab of the truck driving the truck between pickup sites while one or two loaders or riders either walk beside or ride on a platform near the rear of the truck between pickup sites so that they are closely adjacent to both the refuse being picked up and the rear end of the truck where the refuse is received. With such an arrangement, the truck driver does nothing while the refuse is being picked up and the rider or loader does nothing between refuse pickup sites. Such an arrangement is an extremely inefficient use of manpower and substantially adds to the cost of trash collection.
Numerous suggestions have been made for auxiliary or dual controls for vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,478 discloses a self loading refuse vehicle, that is, of the type not requiring a loader or helper on the ground, wherein a complete duplication of controls is provided at an operator perch located on top of the vehicle cab and facing rearwardly. U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,716 represents an attempt to make a refuse collection operation a one man operation by providing auxiliary controls on the driver's side of the cab operable from the running board or platform directly adjacent to the normal driver's position. This arrangement, which requires both hand and foot operations, is entirely too complex and fails to locate the operator at an optimum position for loading refuse into the truck. An improvement in operator positioning may be provided if the refuse pickup vehicle is operated in reverse and the operator located near the rear thereof as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,811; however, in this patented arrangement a complete redesign of the truck and a complete duplication of operator controls is required and the arrangement still requires the operator to move to and from an operator's seat when stopping the truck to pickup trash. Further, each of the prior art attempts discussed represent a substantial expense and unwarranted complexity in equiping a refuse pickup truck for a one man operation.